BSP: 30-day grace period for loans no longer applies in new round of ECQ

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29) — Borrowers would still have to deal with their debts as the central bank clarified that the 30-day grace period on loan payments implemented during last year's enhanced community quarantine will not apply in the new round of hard lockdown, as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act already expired.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in a statement on Monday said the guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases "does not operate to extend the 30-day grace period" provided for under the Bayanihan 1.

"The BSP strongly encourages BSFIs (BSP supervised financial institutions) to continue to provide relief measures to its clients by renewing, restructuring, or extending the terms of the loans, among others, based on their continuing assessment of their cash flows," it said.

"The BSP has granted prudential relief measures to BSFIs to enable them to continue to provide financial services and support households and business amid the crisis," the central bank added.

The government on Sunday announced the implementation of ECQ in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal amid the rising cases of COVID-19. The stricter quarantine controls started on Monday and are slated to end on April 4.